Musical instrument



March 12, 1940. E. w. DAVIS MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed Sept. 24, 1937 11W EN TOR 2Zw/Z%. 9%

Fig 4 Patented Mar. 12, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

My invention relates to musical instruments wherein volume and pitch are controlled manually. The general object of this invention is to provide a musical instrument which is adapted it for artistic rendering of higher class music,.and

which readily responds to individual interpretation in a manner that is easily learned. Another object. is to provide a musical instrument that will satisfy the desires of those who have a yearning to sing, but are lacking in voice quality or control.

A more specific object is to provide an instrument capable of controlling both volume and pitch simultaneously with one hand, and in a manner such that tremolo and vibrato effects are produced by vibratory movement of those muscles of the human arm which are naturally operated members arranged for manipulation by v 30 manual movements substantially perpendicular to each other, and by arranging the manually operated members at a distance from each other, such that they may be operated simultaneously by a single hand of a performer; the range of t 35 movement of one manuallyoperated member being substantially greater than the range of movement of the other manually operated member;

and one manually operated member being shaped in a particular manner, as will be described spe- 40 cifically hereinafter.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the entire instrument. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is an end elevation. Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4, 4, as shown in Fig. 1. And Fig. 5 illustrates a manipulator which may be used in playing the instrument.

In the specific embodiment of this invention as herein shown and described, the sound producing means comprises an audio frequency os- 1 cillator 6, and a loud speaker 1. Both these instruments are Well known, and neet not be described in great detail, especially as this invention concerns the method of controlling the sound producer, rather than the specific construction 5 of the sound producer itself. The audio frequency oscillator 6, operates in accordance with the general principle that the interference between two' radio frequency oscillators tuned to slightly different frequencies, produces an oscillation having audio frequency. Oscillators of 6 thiskind are commonly used in radio manufacturing and repair shops for testing the respone sive characteristics of loud speakers. Such an oscillator is listed in the 1938 general catalog of the Clough-Brengle Co. of Chicago, Ill. In car- 10 rying out this invention, the purpose of the oscillator B, is to produce oscillations of variable amplitude and frequency inan electric circuit, and the purpose of the loud speaker I, is to convert these oscillations into audible sound waves. The oscillator 5, as commonly constructed, is provided with shafts 8 and 9, the rotation of which regulates the pitch and volume respectively. These shafts are ordinarily provided with knobs, which may be removed in carrying out this invention. Rotation 'of the shaft 8, in a clockwise direction increases the frequency of the oscillations produced by the oscillator 6, and thereby raises the pitch of the sound produced by the loud speaker l, and rotation of the shaft 9, in a clockwise direction, increases the ampli- 'tude of the oscillations produced in the oscillator 6, and thereby increases the volume of the sound produced by the loud speaker 1.

The controlling mechanism for regulating the pitch will'now be'described. The pitch lever Ill, is rigidly secured to the shaft 8, so that downward movement of the pitch lever Ill, will increase the frequency of the oscillator 6, and raise i the pitch of the sound produced by the loud 35 speaker l. The finger rail II is used as a guide for actuating the pitch lever Ill, and when a performers finger ismoved along the finger rail H, from left to right, the pitch lever l0, will be moved downwardly, the shaft 8, will be rotated in a clockwise direction, and the pitch of the sound emitted by the loud speaker I, will be-raised,-as will be readily understood. If the performers finger is then moved towards the left, the tension spring I2, will movethe pitch lever upwardly, and the pitch of the sound will be lowered. (The tension spring I2 is omitted in Fig. 3 in order to avoid confusion.)

A frequency. range of 50 to 15,000 oscillations per secondis usual in oscillators of the type illus- 1 trated, but for the purpose of this invention, only a small portion of this range is utilized, so that a relatively small movement of the shaft 8 is sufficient to give a'workable range.

The guide plate l3,'is provided with indicia.

as shown in Fig. 2, so that a performer may place his finger at the proper location on the finger rail I l, for producing any desired note. The guide plate I3 is arranged to slide longitudinally on the finger rail H, and may be held in any desired, adjusted position by means of the stud l4, and clamping nut l5. Shifting the guide plate 13, towards the right or left will raise or lower the pitch respectively. This is useful in either tuning the instrument when playing in concert,

or for transposing music from one key to another.

The controlling mechanism for regulating the volume will now be described. The pulley I6,.is rigidly secured to the shaft 9, controlling the volume. A cord I1, is fastened to the tension spring I8, and is looped around the pulley l6, and passes partially around the idler pulley l9, and is fastened to the arm 20. The arm 20, is rigidly secured to the rotatable shaft 2|, which rotates in the bearings 22, and 23. The arm 24, is rigidly secured to the shaft 2|, and is shaped similar to the arm 20, except that it lacks the downwardly extending portion shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 3. The volume bar 25, is connected with the arms 20, and 24, and is arranged in a horizontal position, sufficiently close to the finger rail ll, so that a performer may operate the pitch lever ID, with his finger, and simultaneously operate the volume bar 25, with the same hand.

When a performer moves the volume bar downwardly, the cord I1, is moved towards the right, thereby stretching, the spring l8. This movement causes rotation of the pulley l6, and the shaft 9, in a clockwise direction, and thereby increases the volume of the sound emitted by the loud speaker "I. A stop (not shown) inside the oscillator limits the rotation of the shaft 9, in an anti-clockwise direction, so that the volume bar 25, occupies the normal position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, when it is not depressed. The oscillator is so constructed that when the volume bar 25 is in its normal position the volume of the loud speaker is zero, and as the volume bar is depressed, the volume is progressively increased.

In playing this instrument, a performer moves his fingers along the finger rail H, and while doing so, he operates the volume bar 25, with that portion of his hand just forward of his wrist. Each time the volume bar 25, is depressed, a sound is emitted from the loud speaker I. The pitch of this sound is determined by the position of the pitch lever H); the volume is determined by the position of the volume bar 25; and the duration is determined by the length of time the volume bar is depressed.

A performer may use either one finger, or several fingers in manipulating the pitch lever l0, and if mor than one finger is resting on the finger rail II, at the same time, then the pitch will be determined by the longitudinal position on the finger rail, of that finger which is in simultaneous contact with the pitch lever H1, and the finger rail II. If several fingers are resting on the finger rail II, at the same time, then vertical reciprocating motion of those fingers towards the right will cause movement of the pitch lever ill, thereby producing changes in the pitch without any lateral movement of the performers hand.

If desired, a performer may use the manipulator 26 (Fig. 5), instead of his fingers. This manipulator comprises a cylindrical, metal finger 21, adapted to be moved along the finger rail H, and a handle portion 28, adapted to be held in the hand.

It will be observed that with this instrument, infinitely variable changes of pitch and volume are possible just as they are with a well controlled human voice. True glissando effects are produced by sliding a finger longitudinally along the finger rail 1 I, while the volume bar is depressed. Tremolo effects are produced by pressing downwardly. on the finger rail l I, with one finger, and then rocking the finger laterally by means of rapid, oscillating, horizontal movement of the forearm. Vibrato effects are produced by similar vertical movement of the wrist while the volumebar 25, is being operated. Staccato effects are produced by very rapid depression of the volume bar 25; and slurring effects are produced by fingering thepitch lever III, while the volume bar 25, is held in a depressed position.

It will be observed that the pitch lever I0, is curved. The shape of this curve isimportant, and the manner in which it is generated will be described. In this description the term arithmetic refers to a progression of the order 12 3.-4 and the term geometric refers to a progression of the order 1--248.

The particular curve referred to is generated in the following manner: A piece of cardboard, or other sheet material, is rigidly secured to the shaft 8, in a vertical plane adjacent to the finger rail H. The shaft 8, is then rotated clockwise in progressive steps in such manner as to produce a progression of geometric changes in the frequency of the sound emitted by the loud speak" er 7, and. simultaneously a point is advanced with arithmetic progression along the finger rail II, from left to right. The resulting succession of points projected on the cardboard will then define the proper curve. With the pitch lever It, shaped in this manner, arithmetic movement of a performers finger along the finger rail II, will produce geometric changes in the frequency of the sound emitted by the loud speaker I, as will be readily understood.

Owing to this characteristic of the instrument, the graduations of the indicia on the guide plate it. will all be equally spaced, thus making it possible to shift the guide plate without affecting its accuracy as a guide. Thus music may be readily transposed from one key to another witl. out any change in the fingering, by merely shiftingthe guide plate [3, the required distance.

Another advantage of this construction is that it provides for uniform fingering throughout the entire range of pitch. In other instruments capable of producing true glissando eifects, such as a violin, trombone, or slide whistle, the fingering becomes finer at high pitch. This makes it diflicult for a beginner to play accurately over any considerable range. But with the instrument of this invention, the fingering is uniform throughout the entire range, thereby reducing the difliculties experienced by a beginner.

I claim:

l. A musical instrument comprisiig sound i reducing means; a finger rail arranged for on- Venient sliding movement of a perfomnefs thereon; a volume bar substantially parallel with said finger rail, and apart therefrom a distance such that a performer may conveniently slide his finger along said finger rail and operate said volume bar simultaneously with one hand; manually operated means co-acting with said finger rail for varying the pitch of the sound produced by said sound producing means; and

volume varying means responsive to movement of said volume bar.

2. A musical instrument comprising sound producing means; a finger rail arranged for convenient sliding movement of a finger thereon; a pitch lever in close proximity to said finger rail and intersecting the length of said finger rail" at an acute angle thereto; and pitch varying means responsive to movement of said pitch lever.

3. A musical instrument comprising sound producing means; a finger rail arranged for convenient sliding movement of a finger thereon; a pitch lever in close proximity to said finger rail, and intersecting the length of said finger rail at an acute angle thereto; pitch varying means responsive to movement of said pitch lever; and a guide plate arranged substantially parallel with said finger rail; said guide plate having indicia thereon for indicating the various changes in the pitch of said sound producer when said pitch lever is moved to different positions.

4. A musical instrument comprising sound producing means; a finger rail arranged for convenient sliding movement of a finger thereon; a pitch lever in close proximity to said finger rail and intersecting the length of said finger rail at an acute angle thereto; pitch varying means responsive to movement of said pitch lever; a guide plate arranged substantially parallel with said finger rail, said guide plate having indicia thereon for indicating the successive pitches of said sound producer when a performers finger is moved along said finger rail While in contact with said pitch lever; and means for adjusting the longitudinal position of said guide plate relative to said pitch lever.

ERNEST W. DAVIS. 

